A co-worker that you hardly know suddenly begins acting hostile towards you. One day, out of the blue, she threatens to beat you up. Another day, she screams at you and gets in your face. You become scared and upset and you feel things are escalating. Soon, you find all four of your tires slashed.

What do you do? You discuss the situation with a friend and she tells you to go get a domestic violence restraining order. But that requires several things, one of which is that you demonstrate to a judge that you and the person threatening to harm you have been involved in a substantive dating or engagement relationship, or are or were married, or that you are or were residing with the person, or that you had a child in common with him/her. Clearly, that is not the case here with your co-worker.

Does that mean there is no way you can be protected? No. It does not. In 2010, Massachusetts enacted a law similar to the law that allows a judge to issue a domestic violence abuse protection order. The law, known as the harassment prevention law gives protection to victims of abuse, stalking or harassment where the requirements of the other law are not satisfied. So, which one is appropriate for you if you are being abused or harassed?

The attorneys at Ryan Faenza Carey can assist you in pursuing the right legal action to ensure you have the protection you need. Contact us today for more information.

http://rfclegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/RFC_logo-1.png00Anne Marie Corrarohttp://rfclegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/RFC_logo-1.pngAnne Marie Corraro2017-10-25 01:38:572017-11-20 01:45:46Restraining Order or Not: How you can protect yourself from abuse, stalking or harassment in Massachusetts